JERUSALEM – Israel became the first country over the weekend to seal its borders for all foreign travelers in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and took a drastic move that appeared more draconian but less discriminatory than other countries’ travel bans.
It was only four weeks ago that Israel fully reopened its skies to vaccinated tourists after banning foreign visitors at the start of the pandemic. But until midnight between Sunday and Monday, the borders are to be closed again to foreigners.
The swift reversal came after a nightly meeting of the Israeli coronavirus cabinet on Saturday and was a broader ban than most countries have so far imposed. The US, UK, Canada, the European Union and other nations have all announced driving bans for travelers from southern Africa, where the variant was first discovered.
These bans have sparked a wave of resentment among Africans who believed the continent was once again bearing the brunt of the panic politics of Western countries that had failed to provide vaccines and the resources to administer them.
Hours after Israel announced its blanket ban, Morocco said on Sunday that it would refuse entry to all travelers, including Moroccan citizens, for two weeks from Monday. Officials said more measures would follow, including a ban on outbound flights and the closure of land and sea borders.
In Israel, all foreigners are banned from entering the country for at least 14 days, except in urgent humanitarian cases that must be approved by a special exemption committee. Returning vaccinated Israelis will be tested on landing and will have to self-quarantine for three days pending the results of another PCR test. Unvaccinated Israelis have to quarantine themselves for seven days.
Israelis returning from “red” rated high risk of infection countries, including most African countries, must enter a quarantine hotel until they get a negative airport test result and then be placed in home quarantine (until they get a 7-inch -Quarantine received). Day PCR test result).
Ran Balicer, chairman of a panel of experts advising the Israeli government on responding to Covid-19, said the decision was made as a temporary precaution.
“Since it is not unlikely that Omicron will actually spread to other countries that have not yet recognized these clusters, it is therefore best to choose this particularly safe approach for a short transition period of uncertainty and to postpone the incoming tourism altogether. “Said Professor Balicer, who attended the cabinet meeting.
“The aim is to delay the uncontrolled local transmission of Omicron in the country as much as possible, ideally by weeks,” he said, adding: “At this point in time, not every country already has the capacity to systematically recognize the new strain. Therefore, in the coming days, other countries should be able to prove the strain for the first time. “
Israel has so far identified at least one confirmed case of Omicron – a woman who has arrived from Malawi – and tests have suggested several more likely cases in the country.
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministry of Health called for all passengers who took the bus from Tel Aviv to the southern seaside resort of Eilat on the Red Sea on November 22 to take a PCR test and self-isolate after it became known that the woman from Malawi was on that bus was.
Israel is only recently out of one fourth wave of the virus which had one of the highest rates of daily infection by the Delta strain in the world. Officials attributed the containment of this outbreak to a rapid introduction of booster vaccinations, which began in August after Israeli scientists found declining immunity in people five or six months after Pfizer’s second vaccination.
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To forestall the next crisis, the Israeli government conducted an exercise code-named “Omega” this month to test nationwide preparations for the outbreak of a new, deadly variant of Covid.
“The most threatening thing is not even the current situation, but what we do not yet know,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the start of the exercise on November 11th. “Just as the Delta strain broke out violently, others even more” There could be deadly and more infectious strains that could bypass the vaccine, “he added.
At least 80 percent of people over the age of 16 living in Israel are vaccinated, but the numbers are lower in younger age groups. Israel started vaccinating children ages five to eleven last week, but initial uptake has been slow. About one million Israelis who are now entitled to a booster vaccination have not yet taken one out of a total population of nine million.
Israeli Covid policy now revolves around keeping the economy fully open and avoiding internal lockdowns while tightly controlling borders.
But the reintroduced entry restrictions have suddenly turned the vacation plans for tourists from abroad upside down. Esther Block from London has been waiting to visit lifelong friends in Israel for a good two years, one of whom is now 87 years old. “We should come when Israel was first cordoned off,” said Ms. Block, 57, “and we’ve been postponing since then.”
Ms. Block is double vaccinated, should have a booster vaccination next week and also recovered from Covid about four weeks ago. Her teenage son wanted a second shot next week, so the family had started planning a trip to Israel over the December vacation.
“Now I don’t know when I can come,” said Ms. Block. “I feel pretty drained. But I actually think we should all be doing what Israel is doing, ”she added. “It seems sensible to be careful, although it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Aida Alami contributed the reporting from Morocco.
